Apparatus for feeding rod-like articles



-i968 w. c. LONDON APPARATUS FOR FEEDING ROD-LIKE ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 21, 1967 Oct. 15, 1968 w. c. LONDON 3,405,579

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING ROD-LIKE ARTICLES I Filed March 21, 1967 Z Sheets-Sheet 2 walz Cub, 0%

United States Patent 3,405,579 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING ROD-LIKE ARTICLES William Charles London, Deptford, England, assignor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, a corporation of Great Britain 7 Filed Mar. 21, 1967, Ser. No. 624,835 Claims priority, application'Great Britain, Mar. 31, 1966, 14,381/ 66 12 Claims. (Cl. 83-102) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Multiple length mouthpiece rods fed transversely of their axes in succession are subdivided to produce successive groups each containing a number of axially aligned double length mouthpiece plugs. The groups are delivered between a stationary countersurface and the peripheral surface of a rotating drum-like member having flutes spaced from each other in the direction of feed and at positions oflset from each other in the transverse direction, to roll the plugs of each group into the flutes. Convergent guides align the plugs, thus arranged in spaced succession, one behind another.

Background of the invention This invention concerns apparatus for feeding rod-like articles, and in patricul-ar apparatus for use in mouthpiece cigarette-making machines in which mouthpiece plugs are fed to marry with cigarette portions.

The term mouthpiece plug when used herein means any rod of material suitable for use in the mouthpiece portion of a mouthpiece cigarette and includes any composite rod having portions of different material or having a hollow or tube-like portion. The length of a mouthpiece plug may be the length of the mouthpiece portion of a mouthpiece cigarette, or a multiple of (usually twice) that length. The term mouthpiece rod when used herein means any rod which can be subdivided to produce mouthpiece plugs.

Mouthpiece cigarette-making machines frequently operate according to a method by which mouthpiece plugs and cigarette lengths are united or married together while travelling in a direction transversely of their axes. In such cases the mouthpiece plugs have generally twice the final required length of the mouthpiece portion of a mouthpiece cigarette and are cut from mouthpiece rods whose length is a multiple of the double final length of the mouthpiece plugs. It has usually been found convenient to feed the multiple length mouthpiece rods tranversely of their axes and to cut them into equal double length mouthpiece plugs while they are so moving. This method results in a plurality of double length mouthpiece plugs, axially aligned, being fed transversely of their axes when it is required that, prior to the marrying with cigarettelengths which are to be placed one on each side of each mouthpiece plug, the double length mouthpiece plugs are fed transversely of their axes in spaced succession one after another.

Various means have been proposed for effecting the conversion of a succession of groups of plugs, each group containing a number of plugs in axial alignment travelling transversely of their axes, into a stream of plugs travelling transversely of their axes in spaced succession one behind another as considered in their direction of travel.

Another problem which arises when rod-like articles (such as mouthpiece plugs) are being fed transversely of their length, is that of altering the spacing between them, which necessarily involves altering their speed of move- 3,405,579 Patented Oct. 15, 1968 ment. Difliculty may be encountered in transferring the articles from one conveyor to another which moves at a different speed; for example if the spacing, and hence the speed of the articles is to be considerably increased, transfer from a slow conveyor to a much faster conveyor (e.g.

rom one fluted conveyor to another) often presents difliculties.

Summary of the invention An object of the present invention is to provide new and improved apparatus whereby rod-like articles, such as mouthpiece plugs, moving sideways and axially aligned in groups, are caused to move singly one behind the other.

To this end, the invention provides apparatus for repositioning such articles into staggered formations such that they are all out of axial alignment with each other so that they can be moved axially to form a single row one behind the other. The apparatus includes a repositioning conveyor on which successive groups are received and having article holders arranged in the desired staggered formation, and means to retard all the articles relatively to the conveyor until they are reached by their respective article holders which then cause them to move at conveyor speed. In the embodiment to be described, the article holders take the form of recesses in the conveyor surface, and the articles are retarded by means of a stationary countersurface engaging the articles and causing them to roll until they are reached by their respective recesses which they then enter. The articles thus repositioned into suitable staggered formation may then be transferred to a further conveyor which may have long recesses or flutes each of which receives one article, and means are provided to move the articles axially along these recesses or flutes until they form a single row one behind the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus whereby the spacing and speed of movement of rod-like articles can be altered, and in particular, can be considerably increased. For this purpose the invention provides a supply conveyor to convey rod-like articles transversely of their axes, and a second conveyor to receive the articles and having a conveyor surface on which the articles can roll, and having flutes in the conveyor surface to receive articles, there being provided a stationary counter-surface adjacent said conveyor surface to engage articles as soon as they reach the conveyor surface so as tocause them to roll until they enter their respective flutes. The conveyor speeds can be so arranged that the second conveyor has a surface speed sufliciently greater than that of the supply conveyor that the speed of movement of the articles is increased in two stages, first when they start to roll and again when they enter their flutes and take up the speed of the second conveyor. By this arrangement too sudden an acceleration of the articles in transfer from one conveyor to another can be avoided, as the speed increase can initially be relatively small, i.e. the speed increase which occurs when the articles leave the supply conveyor and immediately start to roll between the second conveyor and the countersurface. When the articles have entered the flutes and their speed of travel is thus doubled, they are well controlled and unlikely to become disarranged or damaged by reason of their acceleration.

The advantages of repositioning the articles into staggered formation and of increasing their speed of travel, and hence their spacing, by successive stages, can be simultaneously obtained by means of the invention. Thus the repositioning conveyor mentioned above may be the second conveyor just described, receiving successive groups of axially aligned articles from a supply conveyor on which the groups are relatively closely spaced. The surface speed of the repositioning conveyor may be sufficiently in excess of that of the supply conveyor that the articles while being retarded, e.g. while rolling towards their article holders (e.g. recesses or flutes) are travelling faster than are the articles on the supply conveyor.

Conveniently the conveyors may be rotary conveyors, the supply conveyor and the further conveyor which receives the repositioned articles both being fluted drums or the like. The repositioning conveyor may conveniently consist of a number of side-by-side disc-like portions, each portion having flutes offset circumferentially from the flutes in the other portions. Suction may be applied to the flutes or recesses of the various conveyors to aid in controlling the articles.

Brief description of the drawing Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of apparatus for feeding mouthpiece plugs in a mouthpiece cigarette-making machine,

FIGURE 2 is an end view in the direction of arrows IIII of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an end view in the direction of arrows IIIIII of part of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to FIGURE 1, multiple length mouthpiece rods, P1, i.e. rods having a length equal to 211 times the length of the mouthpiece plug in a completed mouthpiece cigarette, are fed by an endless conveyor band 1 passing around an irregularly shaped roller 2 over a plate 3 into a container consisting of a hopper 4. The hopper 4 is provided with a fixed front wall 5 and a back wall 6 and has an open bottom which provides an exit for the rods. A refuser roller 7 is provided at the exit from the hopper to eliminate jamming. Inside the hopper 4 an agitator 8, which is a coarsely knurled roll having a periodical reversal in its direction of rotation, keeps the rods P1 gently moving. Directly under the open bottom of the hopper 4 is a fluted drum 9 rotating continuously at constant speed in a clockwise (as seen when viewing FIGURE 1) direction. As flutes 10 of the drum 9 pass below the bottom of the hopper 4 they become filled with rods P1, and the drum 9 thus feeds the rods transversely of their axes in succession from the hopper 4.

As already explained, each rod P1 is 2n times the length of the mouthpiece plug in a finished mouthpiece cigarette. In the embodiment described n=4 and the rods P1 are subdivided into four (or in other embodiments into a number equal to n) equal length mouthpiece plugs whose length is twice that of the mouthpiece plug in a completed mouthpiece cigarette and which are sometimes referred to herein as double length plugs. First the rods P1 pass a circular knife 11 rotating at high speed about a shaft 12, which cuts each rod into two lengths P2 (see FIGURE 2). Further rotation of the drum 9 carries the two lengths P2 past knives 13 and 14 rotatable about a common shaft 15 which cut the two lengths to produce four equal double length plugs L1, L2, L3 and L4, (see FIGURE 2). There is thus an array of groups of doublelength plugs, each group containing four plugs L1, L2, L3 and L4 in axial alignment, these groups following one behind the other in succession on the drum 9. Stationary side guides 16 and 17 restrain the rods P1 and lengths P2 from moving axially while being cut, these guides being shown broken away for the sake of clarity in FIGURE 2. To accommodate the three knives 11, 13 and 14, the drum 9 comprises four spaced discs 18, 19, 20 and 21, integral with a common shaft, the flutes 10 consisting of aligned flutes in the discs. The rotating knives 11, 13 and 14 pass through the spaces between the discs. The side guides 16 and 17 are joined to a back guide 22 which holds the double-length plugs in the flutes ;10,-.this guide being. providedwith slots. through which the knives 11, 13 and 14 can operate (see FIG- URE 2).

Below the drum 9 is a rotatable fluted drum-like member 23, made up of four spaced discs integral with a common shaft, rotating continuously at a constant speed in a counter-clockwise direction (as seen when viewing FIGURE 1), and provided with flutes 24 spaced around its periphery (theflutes consisting of aligned flutes in, the discs). The back guide 22 stops short of the top position of the member 23 and allows the groups of double length plugs to fall in succession from the flutes 10 into the awaiting flutes 24. The two sets of flutes 10 and 24 are synchronised. A retaining plate 25 holds the groups of double length plugs in the flutes 24. The plate 25 could, if desired, be dispensed with and suction applied to the flutes 24 in known manner.

The groups-of double-length plugs are thus conveyed in succession transversely of their axes in the flutes 24 of the drum-like member 23 with a predetermined first spacing, which is relatively small, corresponding to the pitch of the flutes 24, between successive groups.

A second rotatable drum-like member 26, which may be termed a repositioning conveyor as its function is to reposition the plugs, is located below the member 23 and is again made up of a number of portions positioned along its axis, the portions comprising four discs (or a number of discs equal to n in other embodiments), 27, 28, 29 and 30 on a common shaft. Each disc is provided with recesses or flutes 31 spaced around its periphery in which the double length plugs can be received and conveyed transversely of their axes, there being the same number of flutes in each disc, i.e. in this embodiment three. For the disc 27 (see FIGURE 1) the three flutes are referenced as 31a, 31b and 31c. The flutes in the adjoining disc 28 are also three in number and are staggered or offset in a circumferential direction 30 from those in the disc 27. The three flutes in each of the remaining two discs 29 and 30 are similarly offset or staggered. Thus in the member 26 there are twelve flutes spaced 30 from each other in a circumferential direction, i.e. in the direction of feed of double length plugs carried in the flutes, and offset from each other in a direction transverse to the direction of feed. In other words, these flutes or recesses are arranged in staggered formation over the composite surface of the repositioning conveyor 26, which formation corresponds to the staggered formation which the plugs are required to assume. The flutes in any one disc are spaced apart, so that double length plugs which will be received in successive flutes of any one disc will have a greatly increased spacing, corresponding to the pitch of the flutes on that disc, between them.

The peripheral surface of the discs 27, 28, 29 and 30 between successive flutes provides a rolling surface along which double length plugs can roll into the flutes. An arcuate plate 32, positioned adjacent and coaxial with the member 26, provides a stationary countersurface separated from the peripheral surface of the member 26 by a distance slightly less than the diameter of the double length plugs which cooperates with the peripheral surface to roll the plugs into the flutes.

The member 26 rotates continuously at a constant speed in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGURE 1). Its speed and that of the member 23 are arranged such that the ratio between their peripheral velocities (the periphery for this purpose being assumed to be measured around an imaginary cylinder defined by the axes of plugs lying in the flutes) is the same as the ratio between the pitch of their flutes (in the case of member 26, the pitch of the flutes on one disc) i.e. the ratio between said first spacing and said second spacing. The members 23 and 26 are synchronised so that each group of double length plugs is deposited on the latter in a position where there is no flute, each plug being received on the peripheral rolling surface of the appropriate disc 27, 28, 29 or 30 ata position ahead (as considered in the direction of movement of said peripheral surface) of the flute in which the plug is to be received. Since the arcuate plate 32 is stationary "the double length plugs engaged therebyroll on the peripheral surface of the memb'er26 at substantially half its speed until each in turn is overtaken by a flute into which the double length plug drops, i.e. the plugs are rolled relatively to the peripheral surface of the member 26 in the direction opposite to the direction of feed of plugs carried in the flutes of the member 26, and their movement relatively to the peripheral surface is thus retarded.

, It will be noted that the plug L4 of each group has to roll a substantial distance before the appropriate flute of disc 30 overtakes that plug so that the latter may enter the flute, as at the instant when the group ofafour plugs leaves drum 23, the appropriate flute of disc 30 is some distance behind (as considered in its direction of movement) the transfer position. By the time the appropriate flute of disc 30 passes the transfer position the next group ofplugs to be transferred is very close to the transfer position and there is a possible risk that the flute in disc 30 in which the plug L4 of one group is to be received will receive the plug L4 of the next succeeding group. To prevent this (which would cause the plug which should have occupied that flute to be lost through the gap between member 26 and plate 32 at the downstream end of the latter) a small strip 33 is secured to plate 25 so as to extend over the disc 30 at the transfer position and for a Short distance downstream from that position, and to act as a guide means to guide each plug L4 into the rolling zone so that it does not enter a flute on disc 30 until it is rolled into the appropriate flute. The plate 32 also assists in the transfer of the groups of plugs from member 23 on to member 26 by having finger-like parts at its upstream end extending between and on each side of the disc portions of members 23 which act to strip the plugs from the flutes 24.

It will be seen that by the arrangement described, the plugs when fed to the repositioning conveyor 26 have their speed, and hence their spacing apart, considerably increased, but in two stages; the first stage is when they are retarded relatively to the peripheral surface of the drum 26 by being caused to roll on iti.e. while they are travelling forward at half the speed of the drum surface; and the second stage is when they have been received in their respective flutes, which act as holders and constrain the plugs to double their speed, i.e. to move at the speed of the drum surface.

The discs 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the rotatable member 26 are attached to a hollow shaft 34 (see FIGURE 2) and each flute communicates by means of a hole 35 with the inside of this shaft 34. Inside the shaft 34 is a fixed sleeve 36 having a port 37 which as seen when viewing FIGURE 1 extends from approximately 11 oclock to approximately 7 oclock. The inside of the sleeve 36 is in communication with a suction source so that between the limits of the port 37 suction is applied to each of the flutes of the member 26. Thus as the member 26 rotates in its clockwise (as seen in FIGURE 1) rotational direction double length plugs received in its flutes 31 are held suctionally therein until approximately at the 7 oclock position suction is cut off by the port 37 as each flute passes this position. The member 26 thus carries the plugs transversely of their axes in its flutes away from the rolling zone.

A rotatable drum 38 provided with flutes 43 spaced around its periphery rotates continuously at constant speed in an anticlockwise direction as seen when viewing FIGURE 1, its speed being such that its peripheral velocity is substantially the same as that of the member 26. Double length plugs held in successive flutes of member 26 are transferred to successive flutes '43 of member 38. Adjacent and around part of the member 38- is a guide 6 44 which serves to hold the double length plugs in the flutes 43 and also causes them to form into line, one behind the other, by having side portions 45 and 46 which are inclined in a converging direction (see FIGURES 2 and 3). These side portions 45 and 46 thus act as aligning means and move the plugs, which are initially received in successive flutes 43 of the drum 38 at positions oflset from each other in a direction transverse to their direction of feed, axially alongthe flutes 43 into substantial alignment one behind another (as considered in their direction of feed). The guide 44 has finger-like parts at its upstreamend which extend between and on each side of the disc portions of member 26 to strip the plugs from the flutes of the discs. The side portions 45 and 46 terminate in a funnel shape whichis just wide enough for the double length plugs to pass through before dropping into flutes 47 of a further fluted drum 48. As can be seen in FIGURE 2, these double length plugs are now substantially aligned. one beind another in a stream midway along the flutes of the drum 48, and are being fed in spaced succession transversely of their axes so that each double length plug can be positioned between and united with two cigarette portions to produce an assembly which can be bisected by cutting through the middle of the double length plug to produce two monthpiece cigarettes in well known manner. For example, cigarette portions can be fed to the flutes 47 of the drum 48 so that one cigarette portion is positioned on each side of each double length plug to be united therewith by means of a uniting band around the double length plug and overlapping the adjacent ends of the cigarette portions to produce said assembly.

As stated previously, suction may be applied to the flutes 24 of the drum-like member 23. Preferably suction is also applied to the flutes 43 of the drum 38 and to the flutes 47 of the drum 48.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for feeding successive groups of axially aligned rod-like articles transversely of their axes and for repositioning the articles into staggered formation such that all the articles are out of axial alignment with each other so that by subsequent axial movement of at least some of them, all the articles can be arranged in a single row one behind another considered in the direction of feed, said apparatus comprising a repositioning conveyor to receive successive groups of articles, and having article-holders arranged in staggered formation thereon, means for continuously driving said conveyor, means to feed successive groups of articles to said conveyor, and means adjacent said conveyor to engage the articles received thereon so as to retard the movement of each article relatively to that of the said conveyor until the article is reached by a holder which thereafter causes the article to move at the speed of said conveyor.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means to feed successive groups of articles to said repositioning conveyor comprises a supply conveyor and means for continuously driving said supply conveyor, the driving means for said repositioning conveyor and supply conveyor being capable of providing relative speeds to the said repositioning conveyor and the supply conveyor such that articles on the said repositioning conveyor Whose movement is being retarded move at a greater speed than that at which articles are moved by the supply conveyor.

3. Apparatus for feeding successive groups of axially aligned rod-like articles transversely of their axes and for repositioning the articles into staggered formation such that all the articles are out of axial alignment with each other so that by subsequent axial movement of at least some of them, all the articles can be arranged in a single row one behind another considered in the direction of feed, said apparatus comprising a rolling conveyor to receive successive groups of articles, and having a conveyor-surface on which articles can roll, said conveyorsurface having recesses therein arranged in said staggered formation, means for continuously driving said conveyor, means to feed successive groups of axially aligned articles to said conveyor-surface, and a stationary member adjacent said conveyor-surface and having a counter-surface positioned to engage articles immediately after they are received on said conveyor-surface and cause them to roll, thereby retarding the movement of each article relatively to that of the conveyor until the article enters a recess which thereafter causes the article to move at the speed of said rolling conveyor.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, includ ng a further conveyor to receive repositioned articles from the said rolling conveyor, and having flutes each of which receives an article, the apparatus further including means to move the articles axially along said flutes until they form a single row one behind another.'

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means to move the articles axially along said flutes comprises stationary guides located adjacent the said further conveyor.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means to feed successive groups of articles to said conveyorsurface comprises a conveyor-means, and the speed of the rolling conveyor is sufliciently greater than that of the said conveyor-means that the articles while rolling on the conveyor surface of the roller conveyor travel forwardly faster than do the groups carried by the said conveyormeans.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the said rolling conveyor is a rotatable drum-like member.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the drumlikc member consists of a number of side-by-side portions, equal in number to the number of articles in a group, each portion having flutes, constituting the said recesses, spaced around its periphery, the flutes in each portion being circumferentially offset from the flutes in the other portions.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including means to apply suction to the said recesses in the rolling conveyor.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, including guide means between the said conveyor-means and the said rolling conveyor to ensure that all the articles of a group are deposited on the said conveyor-surface of the rolling conveyor and to prevent premature entry of an article into a recess.

11. In a mouthpiece cigarette making machine apparatus for delivering mouthpiece plugs, whose length is twice the length of the mouthpiece portion required in a mouthpiece cigarette, comprising a container for mouthpiece rods whose length is a multiple of the length of said mouthpiece plugs, means to feed said rods transversely of their axes in succession from said container, means to subdivide said rods to produce groups of mouthpiece plugs, each group containing a plurality of plugs in axial alignment, 8. drum-like member arranged to rotate about its axes and having number of portions positioned along its axis, each said portion having flutes in which plugs can be carried transversely of their axes spaced around its periphery, and a peripheral surface along which plugs can roll between said flutes, and the portions being arranged so that the flutes on each portion are offset in a circumferential direction from the flutes on the other portions, means to deliver said groups of plugs in succession to said drum-like member so that the plugs of a group are received on different portions of said member, each plug being received on said peripheral surface at a position ahead, as considered in the direction of movement of the flutes, of the flute in which it is to be received, a stationary countersurface positioned adjacent said drumlike member arranged to cooperate with said peripheral surface to roll the plugs into said flutes, whereby the plugs become spaced from each other'in the direction of their movement, conveyor means to receive the plugs from said drum-like member and feed them transversely of their axes, and means to move plugs axially so as substantially to align them one behind another, as considered in their direction of movement, whereby the plugs can be fed in spaced succession, one behind another, by said conveyor means.

12. Apparatus for feeding rod-like articles transversely of their axes and for increasing their speed and spacing, including a first conveyor to convey the articles at a first speed and a second conveyor to receive the articles from the first conveyor, the said second conveyor having a surface On which the articles can roll, flutes in said surface to receive articles, and a stationary countersurface adjacent said surface to engage articles as soon as they reach said surface and to cause them to roll until they enter said flutes, driving means for moving the second conveyor at a speed sufficiently greater than that of the first conveyor that the speed of movement of the articles is increased in two stages, first when they reach the sa d surface and countersurface and start to roll, and again when they enter the said flutes and move at the speed of the second conveyor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,165,953 l/1965 Brown 83-102 EDWARD A. SROKA, Primary Examiner. 

